


Heartstone

by SelenaWolf



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Cultural Differences, Eventual Romance, F/M, Tattoos, looks-human now farmer, loss of limb, non-human Farmer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 13:46:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11738310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SelenaWolf/pseuds/SelenaWolf
Summary: So, non-human farmer moves to Stardew and falls for the local Museum Curator/former Archaeologist. I will be trying my hand at not smoothing over the differences that can and will cause. That said, I do expect Gunther to be quite knowledgeable about many things, so it'll be more clashes with the rest of the village, and only occasionally surprising him.Tried to reference/link the story that kinda inspired this.PS - No beta, so all mistakes are my own.





	Heartstone

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Venture Forth and Plant the Seeds of New Beginnings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11452386) by [RegalMisfortune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegalMisfortune/pseuds/RegalMisfortune). 



> Hah, this started based on a dream, and I'm not sure how long it'll go, more tags will likely be added too. Rating might go up, I can't promise any kind of update schedule, but I'm planning on it not being too long, so hopefully won't be an issue.  
> Basically, I read a few fics with the farmer actually being from the Gotoro Empire, and combined that with my love of non-humans, my little crush on Gunther, and the fact that I highly doubt Stardew Valley is the only pace to find magicals and non-humans.  
> PS – Maybe if we make him popular enough, Gunther will at least be befriend able?

Heartstone

Prologue

 

It was another cool day in the bustling city. A red-haired woman trudged into work, deftly avoiding the bustling crowd with the ease of long-practice, and the wish for being left alone.

 

It had been almost 8 years since she had found her way into the Ferngill Republic from the Gotoro Empire, and she had since learned the hard lesson that it really wouldn’t be much better over here.

 

She ducked into the automatic doors of her destination with a flinch as the frigid AC stung her ears and sent a shiver down her spine. Sighing, she made her way with the other mindless-looking people into the elevator to get to her floor.

 

Hours of degrading phone calls and repetitive paperwork later, she was yet again near-tears from the yearning to be just about anywhere else. _‘Well, you don’t have anywhere else. It’s all gone. Suck it up, this is your life now.’_ With that depressing thought, she slumped onto the desk and bit her lip hard enough it bled in a bid to keep the keening cry at bay.

 

Hearing heavy footsteps she recognized a belonging to her ass of a boss heading her way, she frantically sat up, accidently jarring the drawer to her left as she did so. Quickly checking her work email and finding one that needed a reply, she was back to looking busy by the time her boss passed her.

 

Waiting until he had moved on, she listlessly went to close the drawer, but a simple white envelope caught her eye. She hesitated, poking her head out of her cubicle to check that the boss was not hovering nearby, she performed another quick look around, before ducking back in.

 

Her hand hovered over the envelope, memories overtaking her before she could grab it.

 

_She had just recently managed to gain sanctuary within the Republic, but hadn’t understood the soldier’s snickering about her eagerness until now. These people didn’t run on a bartering system as her tribe had done, as even the Gotoro peoples had once honored with the wilder tribes on their outskirts._

 

_She had no funds, nothing to her name but the clothes on her back, no family, no friends, and fresh-ish wounds that were still giving her trouble. She was still learning how to survive with the loss of a limb that was so vital to her people. The emotional toll was even worse – how was she ever to claim a mate if she couldn’t perform the proper gestures for the ceremony?_

_Days started to blur together living on the streets of the city she found herself in. She had minimal success learning to read the local language, but had picked up enough of speaking and understanding before she even arrived, so by now she spoke it quite well. Enough to beg for change at least, despite her disgust at having to do so._

_One day stood out more than any other – an old man, sick enough she could smell it on him, stopped to stare at her shivering in an alley._

_He approached as she watched warily – She had learned that lesson fast too._

_“My dear, come home with me for a while. I am ill, as you may be able to tell. I have no family, few surviving friends, but I need aid getting my affairs in order.”_

_Despite being wary, she had accepted his offer, as she really could tell he had no strength left. Days turned into weeks, into nearly a year before he passed away. She never had figured out why he had chosen her to aid him, but she had learned of his fondness for the other species that shared his world - it was possible that that was why. In that time, she had helped him with everything that needed squared away, save a single envelope he gave her not a week before his passing._

_He had packed that envelope himself, and had told her to open it when this life became too much. He had also left her his apartment, and the means to getting a proper job after he passed._

Coming out of the memory, she strained her ears for another moment, before pulling out the envelope. She could honestly not take this lifeless job any longer.


End file.
